ANO leader Andrej Babiš, who is widely expected to be the country‘s next
prime minister, has said he is opposed to the Czech Republic adopting the
euro and is against any further integration with the EU. Speaking in a
debate at Charles University, Finance Minister Babiš said he would happily
support a multi-speed Europe within which EU members would be free to
decide how fast and to what measure they wanted to proceed with EU
integration.

Andrej Babiš, photo: Filip Jandourek
With October’s general elections just months away, the leader of the ANO
party which has kept a strong lead ahead of its rivals, is making clear
what his plans for the country are – and euro adoption is clearly not on
the agenda. “I don’t want to be in the Eurozone, I don’t want the
country to be a guarantor for Greek or Italian banks” Babiš said in a
debate at Charles University. He noted that the single currency was
originally a sound economic project, but had turned into a political one
and he firmly believed that the Czech crown was now more advantageous for
the country than the euro.

In an interview for the weekly Euro, Babiš said he did not think the
Czech Republic would become a net contributor to the EU budget, even after
2020, and questioned the rules governing the distribution of EU subsidies,
especially under the soft programs. He said it was a pity the Czech
Republic did not have a bigger influence on the way the money was used. EU
countries should say themselves in what European projects they want to
participate and in what not, Babiš said.

“I do not want a common immigration policy with France or Germany, the
Czech Republic should have its own immigration policy, it should alone
decide who it will let into the country, who should get a work permit and
where it will send humanitarian aid,” he noted. “Every state has its
own national interests, and we want to fight for Czech national
interests,” Babiš concluded.

The party’s main rival in the elections, the Social Democrats, are much
more cautious in their statements. Although PM Bohuslav Sobotka has
expressed the view that the country should not set a euro-adoption date
until the state of its public finances improves and the standard of living
gets closer to that of advanced EU member states, he criticized the idea of
a multi-speed Europe, saying it would leave the countries in the slow-lane
out of important decision-making. The third party in the ruling coalition,
the Christian Democrats, has expressed similar concerns. Party leader Pavel
Bělobrádek said that it would not be to the country’s advantage to
remain outside the Eurozone. He said that as an export-dependent economy
the Czech Republic should keep in mind who its strong economic partners
are. It is not a question of needing the euro, we need to have the same
currency with Germany and the Netherlands, Bělobrádek said.

The leader of the opposition TOP 09 Miroslav Kalousek has stressed the
need to adopt the euro as soon as possible in order to increase the
country’s influence on decision-making. No one will give countries in the
slow lane the time of day, Kalousek predicted.